


Reunion

by Isra



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-13
Updated: 2014-02-13
Packaged: 2018-01-12 05:55:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1182688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isra/pseuds/Isra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A chance encounter after a long separation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> This was loosely inspired by Ani DiFranco’s song "Providence." As a result, it has some dark elements to it, plotwise.

**Disclaimer:** This is entirely made up, not real, etc.; I have no claim on these characters and do not know the real life people at all, and no one should take it seriously in any way.  


He heard Rhett’s voice before he saw him. He had entered the house party and already handed off his coat to be hung up somewhere when the music faded between songs, and he heard it from across the room. He would know that voice anywhere, even after all this time. It had to be, what, at least five years by now? And yet it still hit him like a lightning bolt, or like a slap to the face. Rhett was here.

Link would have turned and left the party immediately, just walked away, if he still had his coat. But it was an expensive coat and it was snowing outside and besides, they were adults and should be able to handle being in the same state by now. So instead of fleeing like his beating heart told him to do, Link made his way to the bar and grabbed a beer instead. 

He stood with his back against the bar and scanned the room as he took a pull from the bottle. It was a big room, and the lights were dim, but Rhett was always easy to find, towering over most people the way he did. Link located him in the far corner, talking to two women he didn’t recognize. He still had the beard; his hair was still styled upward but was a more conservative length. He had a dark shirt on. That was all Link could make out from here.

Link briefly considered walking over, just to get the awkwardness out of the way immediately, like ripping off a bandaid. His cowardice got the better of him, though. He made his way to the host of the party, his childhood friend Connor, who was chatting with a few people in the opposite corner. 

Connor greeted him with an enthusiastic hug and a big grin. “Hey Link, I’m so glad you could make it.” 

Link returned the grin warmly. “Me too! Great timing for the party, with me and Christy in town to visit the grandparents.”

Connor looked around the room. “Did Christy make it too?”

Link shook his head. “No, she’s feeling pretty jetlagged so she had to turn in early.” 

Connor nodded. “That’s too bad, tell her we missed her.” 

“I will.” 

After a few minutes of small talk, Connor asked, “Oh, did you see Rhett’s here?” 

Link gripped his beer bottle, taking another drink before replying, “Is he? I didn’t see him.”

Connor nodded. “Right over there,” he said, gesturing. Connor didn’t know what had happened. Like most people, he knew the public story: they had merely decided to go their separate ways, creatively speaking. It had been amicable, if rather sudden. The private story was rather messier. 

“Great,” Link said, “It’ll be good to catch up with him.” 

After a few more minutes of chitchat, Connor made his excuses and left to go play party host. Link finished his beer and got another one. He still didn’t feel capable of handling the awkwardness of saying hello to Rhett, so he circulated through the crowd, staying away from the corner where Rhett appeared to be holding court. He spoke briefly with a few other old friends, updating them on his continued success in Los Angeles. Most of them already had an idea, since Link’s studio was basically a household name at this point. 

He had made his way back to the bar and gotten his third beer when he heard Rhett’s voice behind him. “Hey, Link.” 

Link turned. Rhett stood in front of him, holding an empty whiskey glass. He looked older, sure, but in the most important ways he looked exactly the same. He still had the same piercing storm-grey eyes, the strong jaw, the dramatic brow. His face was a bit more gaunt, his body slimmer. He wore a dark red polo shirt and jeans. His expression was neutral, as if he were approaching a stranger. 

Link smiled with a bit of effort. “Hey Rhett, long time no see, man.”

Rhett nodded. “That it is. About five years, I’d say.” He took a step toward Link, then past him to place his glass on the bar. “Bourbon please,” Rhett said to the bartender. 

He stood close to Link as he waited, and the men regarded each other. After a few seconds, Link said, “You look good.” 

“Thanks.” Rhett took a long sip of his now-filled glass, keeping his eyes on Link’s. He brought the glass down and then his eyes slowly traveled the length of Link’s body, down and back up. “You do, too.” 

Link felt himself begin to blush and fought it. He wasn’t going to show Rhett that he was getting to him if he could help it. He asked, “How’s your family?” 

Rhett’s answer was curt. “Oh, they’re fine.” It had been Rhett’s wife that insisted they move back to North Carolina after the incident. It was either that or a divorce.

Link nodded. “Lily just got accepted at UC-Davis. She’s thinking of going pre-med.” 

Rhett was looking intently at him, but his expression was impossible to read. “That’s great, man,” he said. “How’s everyone else?”

Link gave him brief updates on the rest of the family, even though it seemed like they were just going through the motions of small talk and Rhett wasn’t really interested in the details. Throughout the conversation, Rhett had stayed standing next to him at the bar, close enough that Link could smell his deodorant and the bourbon on his breath. It smelled incredibly masculine and was quite distracting. 

Eventually their supply of innocuous topics wound down. Rhett got another glass of bourbon from the bartender, gave Link one more once-over, and said, “Okay, well, I’ll see you around.”

“See you, Rhett.” 

Link turned back to the bar as Rhett walked away into the crowd. He felt a slight tremor in his knees after the way Rhett had looked at him. Memories of that night, that wonderful and terrible night five years ago, flooded his head. That one fateful night where they had finally gotten drunk and tired enough to give in.  

Brief flashes of Rhett’s long, muscular arms around him. Falling slowly to the floor of the studio together. Finally touching Rhett in all of the places he wanted to touch him. Kissing everywhere he wanted to kiss. Feeling things he’d never felt before. 

The harsh overhead light flicking on, Jessie standing in the doorway. The night everything went to hell. 

Link put his empty bottle on the bar with a trembling hand. He should just leave, but after three beers on an empty stomach, it was going to be a while before that was a good idea. One productive thing he could do, though, was take a piss. 

He stumbled out of the main room of the party in search of the bathroom. Connor’s house was enormous, essentially a mansion. Link identified the closest bathroom by the line that was outside of it. He decided to go explore a bit and see if he could find a vacant one. He finally succeeded on the second floor, at the end of a long hallway. The noise of the party had faded to a low rumble by this point. 

He entered the bathroom and closed the door. It was the biggest bathroom he’d ever seen in a private house. It had a shower and a separate full sized whirlpool tub, as well as a vast countertop and opulent sink. Everything was silver-flecked black marble and brushed chrome. A pillar candle burned in the corner of the counter by the mirror, reflecting soft warm light into the room. 

Link took care of business and then began washing his hands. He studied his face in the candlelight. He thought he looked tired. His hair, still mostly dark, certainly had more noticeable grey than the last time he had seen Rhett. He had shaved right before the party and his skin was smooth, though the shadow of his beard never really went away. 

He turned off the water and was drying his hands when he heard the door open behind him. He jumped, startled. How embarrassing that he hadn’t locked the door. At least his pants were on. 

The door swung open to reveal Rhett standing there. He stepped inside and closed the door behind himself before Link could say anything. The two men stood looking at each other in silence for a few seconds. Rhett reached behind him, keeping his eyes on Link, and locked the door with an audible click.

Link’s mouth went dry. “What are you doing, Rhett?” 

Rhett’s skin had a slight flush and his eyes were heavy-lidded. “I wanted to… talk.” His voice sounded thick.

Link took a half step back and felt the cold marble of the counter against the backs of his thighs. “Uh. In the bathroom?”

Rhett approached until they were toe to toe. Link leaned his upper body away, bracing his palms on the counter. Rhett answered, “Well, there aren’t a lot of other places I was going to get you alone.”

Link looked up at Rhett’s face and saw the naked hunger there. Despite himself, he felt his body warming in response. “Rhett. This is a bad idea.”

Rhett reached out and ran his fingers from Link’s wrist to elbow. Link suppressed a shiver. “Is it?” Rhett asked softly, his voice deep. His hand continued upward past Link’s bicep and shoulder to his collar and trailed along the side of his neck. 

Link closed his eyes. He felt the touch all along his body. He realized he was breathing quickly, shallowly, through slightly parted lips.

Rhett shifted forward so his thighs and hips were against him. Link looked up, knowing the expression on his face was pleading, but not sure himself what it was pleading for. His conscious mind was screaming at him to leave – to shove Rhett away and go down the stairs and walk home if he had to. His conscious mind sounded very small next to the demands his body was making.  

Rhett spread his fingers along the back of Link’s neck and placed a thumb under his jaw, holding his head as he leaned in close to Link’s ear on the opposite side. His breath was hot on Link’s cheek as he whispered, “No one is going to come in here. We have all the time in the world.”

Link turned his head, and his lips were close enough to Rhett’s to brush against them, not quite a kiss. “We can’t,” he whispered. There was no conviction in his voice. 

Rhett spoke against Link’s lips. “We can. We’ve done our time, man.” His voice took on a rough edge. ”I’ve missed you so much.”

Link felt a rush of emotion as Rhett’s words put a crack in the dam he had built up in his mind. Pain, loss, and regret poured in, swirled, ebbed. Surging behind them came a tidal wave of lust long denied. He tilted his head up and touched Rhett’s lips lightly with his own. 

In response, Rhett kissed him, hard. He pulled Link into the kiss with his hand on his neck and jaw, his beard rough against Link’s face. Before Link could think, Rhett’s tongue was in his mouth. The smoky bourbon taste of him drove all conscious thought from Link’s head. 

Link pushed himself up and slid back so he was sitting on the countertop, then wrapped both arms around Rhett’s shoulders. Rhett reached down and put his hands under Link’s knees, guiding his legs up onto his hips. Link locked his ankles together behind Rhett’s back and pulled him in as Rhett leaned over him. Link felt the cold glass of the mirror against his back. 

Still kissing him, Rhett unbuttoned Link’s shirt and let it fall open to either side. He put an arm under Link’s bare back, his large hand spread along his spine. He held him like this as he broke off the kiss and moved to Link’s chest, first nuzzling the small wisps of chest hair, then nibbling at one nipple, then the other.  Link writhed under the sensations, rocking his hips, pressing himself up against Rhett and making small, whining noises in his throat. His fingers curled mindlessly on Rhett’s shoulders, pulling ineffectively at his shirt until Rhett leaned back and took it off himself in one fluid motion. 

When Rhett leaned back down, the electricity of their bare chests touching made Link gasp. He ran his fingers up Rhett’s back, fingernails raking lightly, and Rhett arched his back and kissed him again, deeply. Then he moved to Link’s collarbone and set his teeth just above it, biting lightly while his beard tickled the skin. He kept biting along Link’s neck, moving slowly upwards to the underside of his jaw, as his hands went to the button on Link’s jeans.  

Rhett undid the button and slowly slid down the zipper. He hooked his thumbs around Link’s waistband at both hips and worked his jeans and underwear down. Link used his legs around Rhett’s hips to raise himself off the counter slightly in order to assist the maneuver. When he sat back down, the cold marble on his bare skin made him squeal. Rhett chuckled as he pulled Link’s jeans and underwear off the rest of the way, along with his shoes, taking Link’s legs from around his hips to do so. 

Link, his bare legs dangling and his back against the mirror, looked up at Rhett in the warm yellow light. The shadows danced across the muscles of his chest and shoulders. Link felt slowed, almost paralyzed by desire as he watched Rhett take off his own pants and kick off his shoes. When they came together for a kiss again, the contact of Rhett’s bare skin all along Link’s body was exquisite.

Rhett pulled back slightly, tugging gently at Link’s lower lip with his teeth, then began kissing his way down Link’s chest and stomach. He nuzzled the hair below Link’s navel, then nibbled teasingly around the tops of Link’s thighs as Link whimpered and twitched his hips involuntarily. “Fuck,” he heard himself gasp. “Please.”

Link’s eyes were squeezed shut. His whispered pleading turned to a long, shuddering inhalation as he felt Rhett’s tongue on the head of his cock. “Oh… oh my…” he could barely speak. He curled one hand around the lip of the counter, bracing himself in the waves of overwhelming sensations. The other hand he brought to the back of Rhett’s head, lightly. It grounded him, made him hyper-aware that yes, this was Rhett here with him. They were together again at last.

As he took more of Link’s cock into his mouth, one of Rhett’s hands moved over Link’s chest, caressing the taut muscles. Link cracked an eye open long enough to see that Rhett was stroking himself with his other hand. The sight pushed him closer to the edge. He leaned his head back against the mirror, panting, making small noises of desire and desperation. Rhett was also making sounds, low and sensual in his throat. 

The sensations built to a crescendo. Link tried to gasp a warning – “I’m –“ as Rhett took all of his cock into his throat, his beard brushing the top of Link’s balls, sending him over into ecstasy. He came, hard, crying out without words. Rhett swallowed it all as he stood and leaned over Link’s shuddering body. He kissed Link on the lips, still touching himself as he did so. The taste of himself in Rhett’s mouth sent Link further into shivery aftershocks. 

After a few seconds, Rhett broke off the kiss and buried his face in Link’s neck, groaning as he came. Link clutched him around the shoulders, holding him tightly, murmuring tender nothingness. 

They held each other in the shared afterglow, waiting for the ability to form words again. Link still sat on the counter, now resting his head against Rhett’s chest with his arms around his waist. He closed his eyes and listened to Rhett’s heartbeat as Rhett stroked his hair and occasionally planted small kisses on the top of his head.

Eventually reality began to reassert itself. Link leaned back and looked up at Rhett’s face. Rhett was smiling softly down at him, the candlelight bathing his rugged features. Without the all-consuming lust making demands on his body, Link was just happy to be with his best friend again. It felt right. 

Rhett was the one to disengage from the embrace and take a step back. “They’re probably starting to get suspicious.” 

Link nodded, suddenly self-conscious about his nakedness. He reached for the box of tissues on the counter and started cleaning himself up, Rhett doing the same. They got dressed quickly, in silence. Soon everything was back in order and they stood facing each other in the warm light.

Link said, “I don’t know what happens now, Rhett.”

Rhett shook his head. “Nothing happens, Link. You take your family back to L.A. and I go home to mine and we get on with our lives.” His voice was carefully controlled.

Link felt a lump in his throat. “But…”

Rhett’s expression softened. “But now we can look forward to next year.”

There was a lot more Link wanted to say, but Rhett was already turning to open the door. “Wait,” Link said softly. 

When Rhett turned back, Link stepped close and hugged him tightly. “Next year,” Link whispered. Rhett enfolded him in his arms for a long moment, then let go. He turned, opened the door, and disappeared into the darkness.


End file.
